Florence, AZ Part 1

Friday, March 20, 2015

Today we are driving to Florence, AZ to meet with more new friends.  What a life. Somebody has to do it.  So glad it can be us!

Florence is about 1.5 hrs from Tucson.  We decided on a scenic route to Florence.

To my surprise there were bluebonnets lining the scenic highway. 

The bluebonnets did not spread far from the side of the road.  I was hoping to get a picture of bluebonnets and cactus, but not going to happen.

Down the road a ways was a Tom Mix Memorial.

Notice the paperwork held down by rocks on the table in the background.  One was a guest book held by 2 rocks and the others were newspaper articles about Tom Mix.

This is the plaque on the memorial.

This picture was on the table if I remember correctly.  The news clip that talked about his death told that he was driving from Tucson to Florence to attend his grandson's christening. 
There was road construction that Tom did not see until it was too late.  He crashed through the barriers and his car flipped.  He was climbing out of the wreck when his large trunk (suitcase type) fell on him and broke his neck and killed him.

This is one spot I pulled over hoping to get a picture of bluebonnets with cactus. There are a few bluebonnets in the foreground, but not as far back as the cactus.  The light colored cactus in the picture are called Joshua Trees.

Here is another batch along the roadside.  Obviously they are in need of water so they are not near as blue and healthy looking as those in Texas.

Nothing more exciting along the road.  We arrived at a Greek restaurant and met with 6 friends that drove in from Mesa, AZ.  We did not get a picture at the restaurant.

After lunch we went to several historical sites in Florence.  

Our first stop was the first courthouse and jail. We were told that back in the time the prisoners were chained to a huge bolder out back.  That boulder is long gone.  Later the courthouse and jail were turned into a hospital.  Sorry, no photo of the old building.  How did that happen?

This is looking down the main street of downtown.

This is a pretty park across the street and behind two different historical buildings. 

Next stop was the Pinal County Courthouse.  A complete restoration of the outside was just completed .

Here is a closeup of the town clock on top of the county courthouse.

As you entered the front door of the county courthouse, this staircase was right there.

This is the 2nd floor with the staircases from below.  The courtroom was straight ahead through those double doors.  There were several law offices upstairs also.

Tic is looking from the 2nd floor down through the staircases.  Neat looking!

This view of the staircase is from the first floor back side of the staircase.  Tic takes great pictures!

Florence Part 2 will be the next museum we went to.